The present invention relates to a medical ultrasonic diagnostic system, and more particularly to a handy ultrasonic diagnostic system which a doctor can carry in place of a stethoscope.
Previously known ultrasonic diagnostic systems are generally large-sized, and compact systems can be barely carried to bedside. These systems can be connected with plural kinds of probes such as a linear electronic scanning probe, a convex electronic scanning probe, a sector electronic scanning probe and a mechanical sector scanning probe. These systems were so structured that the above connectable several kinds of probes can provide the best image.
Several prior arts will be described briefly.
JP-A-55-151952 discloses a portable compact-size ultrasonic diagnostic system including integrated components, i.e., an electronic scanning probe having plural aligned piezo-electric materials, an electronic control unit for controlling the action of the probe, a display which is a CRT (cathode ray tube) and a power source for supplying an operational voltage to each part of this system. This reference also discloses an ultrasonic diagnostic system having a probe unit incorporating a probe, an electronic circuit for controlling it, a transmission section for transmitting an image signal by radio, a transmission antenna and a power source, and a display which is provided at a different member from the probe unit and receives the signal transmitted from the probe unit to display an image.
JP-A-57-170230 discloses an ultrasonic diagnostic system including a probe and a memory unit for temporarily storing an echo signal reflected from the probe to display its image by a television set, in which an examiner can select an ultrasonic moving image or a frozen image at the probe and which does not require any particular transmitted path for selecting the frozen image.
JP-A-62-227326 discloses an ultrasonic diagnostic system small-sized enough to carry in a pocket. This reference intends to provide a system which permits diagnosis information to be easily seen on a relatively wide display screen and is small-sized and light-weighted for easy carrying. To this end, the system is provided with a flat display for displaying the diagnosis information and a mechanism for housing it which serves to house it within the system body when the system is carried and extract it from the body when the system is used. The reference also discloses an ultrasonic diagnostic system provided with a probe attachment mechanism for attaching a probe to the system body so that an acoustic lens is inside when the system is carried.
JP-A-3-23853, as shown in FIGS. 9, 10 and 11, discloses an ultrasonic diagnostic system including an A/D converter 75a for converting an ultrasonic image signal inputted from a probe 30a into a digital signal, and a removable external memory device 100a. As clearly seen from FIG. 11, the system further includes a control unit 80a for reading the digital signal from the A/D converter 75a to be stored in the external storage medium 100a or controlling read of the stored data from the storage medium 100a, and a display 20a for displaying the digital signal from the control unit 80a. The reference also discloses an ultrasonic diagnostic system further comprising a recording equipment 200a for reading the data stored on the removable external memory device 100a to display them, or outputting them. This system image-processes a received echo signal to display the image of an examined part; stores, in the external memory device from removable from a system body 10a, the image data when a clear image has been obtained, directly or after they are stored in buffer memory; and as necessity requires, displays the image data or prints out the image data by setting the external memory device 100a in the recording equipment 200a. Thus, the system can be made compact and can hold the examination result without simultaneously carrying the recording equipment 200a and the system body 10a.